


Shadowed Souls Are Silent Killers

by SkystormChaosCore



Series: Shadowtale [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Murder, Murder Mystery, Nightmares, Post-Undertale Genocide Route, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Post-Undertale Soulless Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 04:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16110374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkystormChaosCore/pseuds/SkystormChaosCore
Summary: "Despite everything, it's still you."Your reflection doesn't seem to believe you, so you say it again."Despite everything, it's still you."Still skeptical.You say it again and again, repeating it to yourself like a mantra. Then the reflection changes. You stand before another child of the same height, only with lighter brown hair, less yellow skin, pink cheeks, a green and yellow striped shirt, and red eyes that seem to pierce into your soul. It's still your reflection. It moves when you do."Despite everything, it's still me."You finally stop when you taste blood and start choking on it. Red dribbles out of your mouth as tears stream out of your eyes. The reflection mirrors you with black flowing from its eyes and mouth."It's me, Chara."





	Shadowed Souls Are Silent Killers

You open your eyes. You were just drifting off to sleep when your mom entered, piece of butterscotch-cinnamon pie in hand. By the time you have reawoken yourself enough to roll over and greet  her, she has already gone, presuming you to be asleep. The plate with the pie is left on the floor for you to find when you wake up. Well, you're awake now. And the pie is warm. Might as well eat it. As you relish your favorite treat, you hear a hum from the shadows. The noise sounds surprised. You turn to look, but see nothing but shadows in the corner of your room. Maybe you should get some sleep. You finish the pie, leaving the plate on a small desk under your window. You'll bring it downstairs tomorrow morning. You crawl into bed, pull the covers up to your face, and, full of pie and happiness, drift off to sleep.  


 

\-        -        -

  
_You watch your hands as they raise a knife. You know the action is your own, yet it still feels disconnected, foreign. The knife comes down, slicing through the skeleton in front of you. He is still too shocked, too horrified, and too guilt-ridden to do any of the things you know he is capable of doing to stop you. His blood drips through his white t-shirt and blue hoodie and onto the grass, the red color contrasting starkly with the green. You feel a smile spread across your face, as you watch your once-formidable enemy fall so easily. It all still feels foreign, as foreign as the wet streak on your cheek. Maybe some of his blood (or whatever that red stuff that leaks out of his chest is) splattered and ended up on your face. You wipe it off before returning your attention to the skeleton._

_"Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in you, Sans," you say. "Maybe next time I'll kill everyone before we get to the surface. Then I can meet you in Judgement Hall and we'll see if you're this easy to kill then."_

_Sans doesn't respond, just stares at you. At first you think he's staring at the red cape wrapped around your neck like a scarf, but then you realize his eyes are directed above that. He's looking at your face. No, he's looking right into your eyes. You wait for those eyes to go blank, for him to make some kind of threat, some kind of promise to kick your ass in his next life... but he only says one word before collapsing into dust._

_"Frisk..."_

_Your face remains emotionless as his soul breaks cleanly in half before shattering. "Is that it?" you ask no one in particular. "'Frisk', and then..." you imitate the sound a monster makes when dying "...dust. That was anticlimactic." He appears to have left his hoodie behind. You loop one finger in the hood and pick it up disdainfully. "I mean, I expected a bit more than that. Oh well. I'm bored. Back we go." You enter your save screen and find the Reset button. A small whimper escapes your throat, unbidden, as your hand slams down on the button and you feel gravity suddenly clutch you, dragging you down into the bed of golden flowers waiting below._  


 

\-        -        -

 

You gasp and cry out, sitting up in bed as you are ripped from your nightmare. When you are done panting you reach up to rub the sleep out of your eyes.

 

They're damp with tears.

 

You hug your knees close to you and place your forehead on them. Your banket muffles you as you mutter "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" over and over again. After a few minutes, your throat is sore and your mouth is dry. You take a deep breath and remove your face from the blankets. Sunlight is streaming through your window.

 

Deciding some fresh air might do you some good, you get out of bed, walk to the window, and push it open. The fresh air hits your face like a splash of cool water. It's springtime, so the the air is a little cool, but not uncomfortably so, and it carries the amazing scent of the earth awakening after a cold, hard winter. In the Underground, you could always tell when it was springtime because of that smell. You close your eyes as the sound of birdsong hits your ears. Without warning, a deep voice echoes in your mind.

 

_"It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like you..."_

  
You try to block out the voice with little success, flinching as the final line is growled.

 

_"...should be burning in HELL."_

 

You hug your arms close to yourself. You know the voice is not real, just one of many memories that seem to have gained a life of their own. You make a mental note to avoid Sans by any means necessary today. Between your dream and that last flashback... you don't think you can face him right now. This should be relatively easy. While any of the others will track you down and try to talk to you if you seem to be avoiding them, if Sans notices something, he'll likely leave you alone. He seems to know about your nightmares, or at least suspect. You wonder if he remembers that there were timelines before this one, or what transpired in them. Just the thought makes you shudder.

You pull on a pair of jeans and a black shirt with two red stripes before heading downstairs. You have yet to pluck up the courage to put on either the blue shirt with two purple stripes or the green shirt with the single yellow stripe that hang in your closet, untouched since the day you and your friends left the Underground. You have also taken to avoiding your reflection whenever possible, and a mirror is notably missing from your bedroom. You string the Heart Locket you are never without around your neck before going in search of Mom and breakfast.

You find the kitchen surprisingly quiet. Usually, Mom is here making breakfast, but she's nowhere to be found, though a plate of pancakes sits waiting for you. Maybe she's in the bathroom or something. You sit down to eat breakfast. The pancakes are delicious, but after your nightmare, you only manage to stomach one. Mom is probably going to be worried by your lack of appetite and start fussing over you, asking if you feel alright. You equip the Empty Pie Plate to use as an excuse and wait for what feels like an eternity, but Mom never shows up. You start to get worried. Did Mom have to leave early to go to the school? No, it's Saturday, and even if she was there for some odd reason, she would have left a note. The lack of a note also means she should still be in the house. She always leaves a note, even if she's sure she'll make it back before you wake up. She's always worried that you'll wake up at some ungodly hour and find her gone. This fear is probably not as ungrounded as some of her other frettings, as you suspect she has every now and then heard you cry out in your sleep.

You frown and are about to go to look for her when the doorbell rings. A small smile forms on your lips. You know who it is, and you could use his comforting presence right now. You head to the front door and open it to reveal Asgore, King of the Monsters. Or as you know him: "Dad!" You fling yourself into his arms. He and Toriel were only just starting to mend their broken relationship, but he would always be your father, regardless of what happened between him and Mom. And it made him happy, so there was no downside, really.

Asgore lifts you up off your feet, crushing you in a hug only a giant goat-monster-king-dad could give. "Howdy, Frisk!" he says jovially. "How are you this morning?"

"Pretty good," you lie.

He sets you down and starts looking around. Dad stopped wearing his royal garments soon after departing the Underground, but you notice he has made an effort to look presentable. Instead of his usual pink Hawaiian shirt, he's wearing a light blue button-up shirt with a collar. Casual, but still nice. "Where's your mother?"

"I... I'm not sure." He looks at you, confused, and you shake your head. "I haven't seen her all morning."

"Did she go out for something?"

"No. At least, I don't think so."

"Well then. Let's go find her, shall we?" He gives you a reassuring smile, but his eyes are concerned.

You split up. Asgore searches the first floor while you search the second. You find neither Toriel nor a clue to her whereabouts, so you descend the stairs, only to hear a cry of shock and grief.

 

Your soul leaps into your throat and you race down the stairs, and through the house, searching for the source of the sound. You find it in the small library at the back of your house, and when you do, you let out a strangled, grief-stricken noise of your own. There is Asgore, on his knees, weeping over... oh God... a pile of dust and a purple dress.

 

_Mom..._

 

You cover your mouth to choke back a sob and turn away. You've seen her dead before, God knows you've watched her turn to dust right in front of you more times than you can count. But this... this wasn't supposed to happen. This was supposed to be behind you.

Before you have the chance to even try to make sense of this, you feel a heavy hand on your shoulder. "Come, Frisk," says Asgore. "Let us leave this place and inform Undyne and the Royal Guard of this."

 

Wordlessly, you nod your head but then turn around and hug your father, burying your face in his shirt and shaking with silent, tearless sobs.

 

Asgore kneels down and wraps you in his arms, easily reverting to "dad mode" despite, or maybe  _because of_ , the tragedy. "We will find the one responsible, I promise you, Frisk," he says. "And until the guilty party is found, I will keep you safe. You have my word."

 

This does little to comfort you. You continue to sob, and Asgore allows you, giving you as much time as you need to calm down before taking your hand and leading you out of the deathly silent house.

 

*        *        *

 

Four days go by, and there is no progress in finding Toriel's murderer.

 

No evidence is found that could lead to the identity of the killer. The only thing the investigators  _can_  determine was that it is, in fact, a murder, since a perfectly healthy boss monster does not just drop dead for no reason, there is nothing to suggest an accident, and suicide is out of the question. Toriel would never take her own life, especially not now, not when she was on the surface with a child, her dream job, plenty of friends, and a slowly but surely mending relationship with her husband. Whoever did it, however, has been very neat about it, leaving no physical or magical trace, nothing that could be traced back to, well, anyone.

You consider resetting, but decided to hold off. Unless you know what happened and how to stop it, everything will just repeat all over again. So as much as it pains you, you have to live without your mother for the time being. Asgore does his best to act as your guardian in Toriel's place, and he _i_ _s_  a good father, but he's not Toriel. He knows it and you know it, even if neither ever says it out loud. And besides, you begrudge him for it- he's grieving the loss of his wife. He doesn't know that with the press of a button, you can reset the world and bring her back. He thinks she's gone forever. One night, when he thinks you're asleep, you hear him confess to Undyne that losing her a second time is almost more than he can bear, and the only reason he hasn't broken down completely is because he still has you. You feel your heart fill with compassion, pity, and determination in that moment, and you vow to find the killer and the way to stop them so you can erase all this grief and bring back Toriel and his happy ending.

Undyne and the rest of the Royal Guard scour for a clue, a lead,  _anything_ that could give them an answer. They had even call on the former sentries, including Sans and Papyrus, to help them search. Papyrus is more than happy to help, proclaiming that he, the Great Papyrus will be the one to "CAPTURE THE FIEND AND BRING THEM TO JUSTICE, IMPRESSING UNDYNE SO MUCH, SHE'LL HAVE TO LET ME JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!!!!" Sans, for once, is not slacking off on the job, and puts to use what you knew to be rather powerful observational skills in search of justice for his friend.

 

You want to help, too, but Asgore insists it's too dangerous. "Your mother is...  _was_  not a weak monster," he says. "She was one of the strongest and bravest that I've ever known. If this... _demon_ managed to best her, no matter how they did it, it is far too risky for you to go looking for them, my child." You don't put up much of a fight. You're the only family he has left. If something happens to you, it will kill him.

You're currently mulling over all this while sitting on your bed. Ever since Asgore ushered you, shaking, from your mother's house, you've been living with him. He's given you a spare bedroom. Well, he  _said_  it was a spare bedroom, but it didn't take too many glance-overs to see it had really been meant for you all along. The thought that he's had a room in his home waiting just for you all this time fills you with warmth (not to mention determination), but you wish that you could have found out under better circumstances.

At some point, you glance at the clock and realize it's quite late. Sighing that this puzzle has to wait until morning, again, you crawl into bed, turn out the lights, and close your eyes.

 

-        -        -

 

_"Do you really hate me that much?"_

 

_You hear Toriel's voice in your ears and you know what you will see when you open your eyes. You don't want to do it, but the dream doesn't give you a choice. Your eyes open and you see your mother crouching in front of you, hand over the red gash in her chest, dripping the same blood dripping off the toy knife in your hand._

 

_"Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here. Not you... but them."_

 

_Your gut twists as she dissolves into dust, but you ignore it and move on, going out the door and into the snow._

 

_A tall skeleton is waiting for you. He is offering you his mercy, his friendship. You don't hesitate to cut him down. Something inside you screams, but you cover it up with a smirk, which you suppose was directed at his naivety as his body dissolved until only the skull was left, which proclaimed its undying faith in you before it, too, turned to dust._

 

_You continue forward, reaching Undyne. She takes a killing blow for a monster child, only to reform from her dust and fight back against you, the hardest battle you've fought so far, but eventually, she, too, falls._

 

_You continue onwards. Alphys is gone long before you arrive, but Mettaton remains, ready and willing to give his life to protect his friend, which, promptly, he does._

 

_You continue ever onwards. You reach a long hallway and have the most difficult battle of your life against Sans, only for him to be mortally wounded, walking off to greet his brother before dying._

 

_You watch a desperate flower kill Asgore, only to kill him anyway, and with one last strike, the world is ended, only to be restarted again. And you watch them all die again. And then again. And then again. In different settings, different scenarios, sometimes only after you have all reached the surface. But it never changes. They always die. ALWAYS._

_You face the never-ending cycle. The inevitability of their deaths by your hands. Faced with the unending torment, your determination gives out, and you are sucked into the black void of nothingness. You never existed. You never have existed. No one remembers you. You cannot change fate. You cannot make a difference, and therefore, you do not exist._

 

-        -        -

 

You wake up, panting and sweating, and immediately curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible, and cry your eyes out. When you manage to calm down a bit, you slowly get out of bed, wavering a little as you feel lightheadedness wash over you for a moment, and go to find Asgore. Right now, there is nothing in the world you want more than a hug from King Fluffybuns.

You go to his bedroom door and knock, only for it to swing open upon contact. You take one look inside the room and freeze.

 

_No... no no no no no..._

 

Dust is spread across the floor.

 

_No no no no..._

 

You stand there for a good few minutes, unable to process what you are seeing. Then, you turn and you run, as fast as your legs can carry you, down the stairs, out of the house, and smack into a skeleton.

 

Sans's eyes go black with shock for a moment when, without warning, you not only run into him, but wrap your arms around him and collapse into his him, sobbing uncontrollably into his hoodie. The skeleton doesn't say anything, just wraps his arms around you and let you cry. He probably thinks you've had another nightmare, which is true, but isn't why you're crying. Hell, you're not even crying because Asgore's dead- you've seen  _that_  happen a thousand times. You're crying because just when you believed a happy ending was within your reach, it's all coming apart. Just like the dream warned it would. And between that nightmare and finding Dad... it's all just too much. You hadn't thought you had any tears left to cry, but you were very clearly wrong.

When you calm down a bit, Sans pries your face away from his hoodie and lifts your chin, forcing you to look at him through your tears. "you alright, kiddo?" he asks.

You shake your head.

"wanna talk about it?"

You choke out, "Dad... bedroom... found... dust..."

Sans's eyes go black. He releases you and teleports away, only to come back a second later. Without a word, he grabs you and teleports again, this time to the living room of the house he shares with his brother. He leads you to the couch, just in time for your legs to give out from under you. He guides your descent so you fall into a sitting position and then goes to look for Papyrus, finding him in the kitchen. "BROTHER, THERE YOU ARE!!!" the taller skeleton says in his normal, charismatic manner.

"bro, can i talk to you?" Papyrus seems to notice the hush in Sans's voice and quiets down, listening. Sans takes a deep breath. "asgore's dead."

"WHAT?!?!"

"keep it down, bro. the kid's in the living room."

"Oh..." You swear you've never heard Papyrus talk so quietly in your life. "Do you think we should tell them?"

"don't have to. they're the one who found the dust."

"Oh my gosh!! That's terrible! I must cheer them up somehow! I must-"

"bro, ya gotta go tell undyne."

"But the human-"

"i'll keep an eye socket on them. but undyne's gotta know."

You hear a sigh. "You're right, brother. As a future member of the Royal Guard it is my duty to deliver this news to Undyne." Papyrus exits the kitchen, heading for the door. But before he leaves, he turns to you and gives you a kind smile. "FEAR NOT, HUMAN. FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL RETURN HOME TO COOK YOU SOME OF MY SIGNATURE SPAGHETTI AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE TIME. THAT WILL SURELY CHEER YOU UP! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!"

 

*        *        *

 

Three days pass. You are staying with the skelebros upon Papyrus's insistence. Sans has given you his room and taken the couch.

Undyne is, of course, devastated at the loss of Asgore, and pledges to find the killer and execute them herself. You're a little worried that this might mean you won't get the answers you need to stop this when you reset, but you decide to figure it out when you get there.

 

The Royal Guard doubles its efforts to find the killer, and human law enforcement steps in to provide assistance. Undyne accepts their help, though somewhat begrudgingly and with the condition that they leave the monsters, specifically her, in charge of solving the murders of their king and queen. With Asgore and Toriel dead, she's now basically the monsters' leader. There's some speculation that this would make her the killer's next target, as the killer has so far only gone after royals, to which Undyne proclaims "Fuhuhu!!! They think they can kill me?! I say, let them come!!! Saves me the trouble of trying to find them before I rip them to shreds!!!!"

There's also been some speculation that the killer is targeting Dreemurrs and  _you_  are next, but you're not that concerned. The killer has already had two perfectly good chances to bump you off as has taken neither. Besides, death is little more than an inconvenience to you.

Asgore's death turns up the same frustrating lack of evidence as Toriel's, so that suggests same killer, same method. Other than that, nothing new is revealed.

After helping Sans read Papyrus his bedtime story, you head off to bed. Sans starts down the stairs as you make your way to formerly-his bedroom. "Goodnight, Sa-"

 

You stop abruptly, earning yourself a concerned look from Sans that you barely notice. You're staring at the half-open door to Sans's room.

 

"kid?" he asks. "you okay?"

 

You don't respond. Slowly, cautiously, you start making your way to the door. You swallow when you reach it. You tell yourself that the shadow you just saw pass in front of the door was most definitely not a person, then push open the door without stepping in, just to be sure. Nobody is there.

 

"kid?"

 

You turn to Sans, who is now right behind you, and smile, trying to hide how on-edge you are. "I said, 'Goodnight, Sans.' Didn't you hear me?"

 

Sans give you a skeptical look. "well... alright, kid. g'night." He turns around and takes a shortcut to the couch.

You walk into the room, get into your pajamas, and crawl into bed. That shadow, whatever it was, has left you with a lurking sense of dread. You turn off the light and attempt to sleep, but your mind is too busy, filled with the brief glimpse of the shadow, terrifying what-ifs, and that tiny little voice in the back of your skull repeating over and over that something isn't right, something bad is going to happen like a mantra. You toss and turn late into the night. You feel eyes watching you from the darkness.

 

At one point, you think you see the flash of a knife.

 

Panicking, you turn on the light, only to see that no one and nothing is there. You turn off the light again, lying back down and closing your eyes. You feel your sins crawling up your back and tell yourself it isn't real. After what seems like an eternity, you fall into an uneasy slumber.

 

-        -        -

 

_"so, i got a question for ya."_

 

_Oh no._

 

_"do you think that even the worst person can change? that anyone can be good person if they just try?"_

 

_You're in a long hallway. Golden light streams in through the stained glass windows. In front of you is Sans. His white pupils are in his eye sockets, but you can still tell he's pissed._

 

_"here's a better question."_

 

_You really hate this nightmare._

 

_"do you wanna have a bad time?"_

 

_You die. And die. And die. Over and over and over again. It's absolute torture. You scream in pain. You scream in frustration. It doesn't help that you're also fighting yourself, some small part of you that doesn't want you to win, doesn't want to see another die. That part distracts you enough to get you killed, cries every time you swing at Sans, preventing you from finding a way to hit him. But in the end, it all doesn't matter, because you do hit him, and he dies, joining his brother in the afterlife, or wherever monsters go when they die._

 

_It doesn't free you from the agony. You take a step forward and collapse._

 

-        -        -

 

When you wake up, Sans is there, leaning on the wall of his bedroom, staring at you, eyes like black pits. You jump out of your skin, your brain going into overdrive, muscles tensed and ready to defend yourself.

 

Then you remember where you are.

"Sans?" you say hesitantly. You realize he looks tired and sad. Your gut sinks into your feet.

 

_Please no._

The white dots return to Sans's eyes, but they only make him look more worn out. He pushes off the wall and slowly makes his way over to the bed, sitting down on it.

 

"kid..."

 

His voice is quiet. He sounds even more tired than he looks.

 

"i know this probably isn't the first thing you want to hear in the morning... but papyrus is dead."

 

He seems to have to force the words out.

You hunch over and cover your face.  _First Mom, then Dad, and now Papyrus?_ You're not sure how much more of this you can take.

 

"How? When?" you ask through your hands. You know he won't be able to answer the How and the When is obvious, but that's not what you're asking. You're asking how and when he found out.

Sans exhales heavily. "i got worried when i woke up and paps wasn't clangin' around the kitchen or yellin' at me to get up, so i went to check on him, and..." He trails off. You don't ask him to go on, choosing instead to wrap your arms around him and hug him close to your chest.

 

*        *        *

 

Undyne is furious. She's now lost two of her closest friends to this killer, who still leaves behind no evidence. She orders the Royal Guard to triple its efforts. Sans quadruples his.

Undyne decides that you should live with her. These attacks are following you and she's very concerned for the safety of her "bestie". She decides the best way to protect you and everyone else is to keep you close by, however, this creates a problem. Undyne and Alphys have dating since the day the barrier was destroyed and are now sharing a house. Worried about the pattern these murders are following, Undyne tells Alphys that maybe she should move out for now. But Alphys refuses. She wants to stand by her girlfriend in her time of need, and she wants to stand by you, too. Four days after Papyrus's murder, she pays for her loyalty with her life. You wake up to find Undyne sobbing over her girlfriend's dust.

Undyne is devastated. She swears to bring down all her wrath upon the killer, just as soon as they  _find the bastard_ , but you can tell her fury is half-hearted now. Losing Asgore, Papyrus, and now Alphys all within a matter of days has completely broken her. You feel awful and offer to leave, but she insists you stay. She's determined to protect you, and tells you over and over that it isn't your fault, it's hers. You try to tell her otherwise, to comfort her in any way, but soon realize it's no use. You wonder if by keeping you here, Undyne is hoping for death to come to her. Two days later, it doesn't matter. Undyne is dead too.

 

-        -        -

 

_Over and over and over again, you are killing them. You kill them underground, you kill them aboveground. Dust and blood cover your hands. A sick, twisted grin covers your face._

 _You're enjoying this. You're taking sadistic pleasure from seeing them fall again and again, knowing there's nothing they can do to stop you. You became too powerful a long time ago. You know their every move, and you know their every limit. Even Sans is no longer a challenge._

 _That's when it gets boring. Killing them every time, no matter how you do it, starts yielding the same results. You continue onward with your genocidal behavior, however, determined not to show mercy. Well, not unless you get to stab them in the back later._

 _Once you stop deriving pleasure in it, however, the pangs start. Pangs of pain. Pangs of sorrow. Pangs of guilt. You ignore them, until one run where you get them to the surface before slaughtering them. You find yourself happy when you make them happy, even though you've seen this already. You laugh with them. When you comfort them it feel genuine. And by the time they're all dead, tears are streaming down your face. You can't block out the all-too-real feelings anymore. With a shaking hand, you reach for the *Reset button._

  
-        -        -

 

_You watch in horror as the body that you once controlled so naturally walks down the all-too-familiar road, slaughtering everything in its path without any direction from you. Every monster, every friend, every member of your family turns to dust. You watch as each one of them falls, feeling your stomach knot up further with every death. You wince particularly hard when Flowey appears to beg for his life, and his pleas falling on deaf ears._

 _At the end of it all is an empty Underground covered in dust and a hand reaching for the *Erase button._

 _You fall to your knees, crying, as in your head, you scream, "What have I done?!"_

 

-        -        -

 

_You are standing in front of a large mirror. It allows you to see your whole body and you see you are wearing the blue shirt with the two purple stripes that you travelled the Underground in. You manage to look at yourself for a minute before you turn away, only to find yourself facing another reflection, another mirror. You turn again and again and again, only to see you are surrounded by mirrors. Everywhere you look, you see your reflection._

 _Knowing closing your eyes will do you no good, you take a deep breath, stop turning, and look yourself in the eye._

 _"Despite everything, it's still you."_

 _Your reflection doesn't seem to believe you, so you say it again._

 _"Despite everything, it's still you."_

 _Still skeptical._

 _You say it again and again, repeating it to yourself like a mantra. Then the reflection changes. You stand before another child of the same height, only with lighter brown hair, less yellow skin, pink cheeks, a green and yellow striped shirt, and red eyes that seem to pierce into your soul. It's still your reflection. It moves when you do._

 _"Despite everything, it's still me."_

 _You finally stop when you taste blood and start choking on it. Red dribbles out of your mouth as tears stream out of your eyes. The reflection mirrors you with black flowing from its eyes and mouth._

 _"It's me, Chara."_

 

-        -        -

 

You open your eyes in your room. Not a borrowed room, but your real room in Toriel's house. Sans offered to let you come back to what is now just his house, but you refused. It isn't lost on either of you that the murders are following you. There's no doubt about that now. It's crossed your mind that Sans might think you're the killer (and really, how else do you explain a string of murders that always take place where you are staying but never touch you?), but you find it to be of little importance to you. Even if it isn't in this timeline, it has been in too many others. If he chooses to blame you, you won't deny it. Knowing how this world works, it's probably all somehow your fault anyway.

It's also crossed your mind that regardless of whether or not he suspects you to be the guilty party, Sans might be offering you shelter, not out of kindness, but because now that he's lost all his friends, he  _wants_  to be the murderer's next victim. His is a deathwish you are not willing to fulfill, so you have returned to the house you once shared with Toriel.

You stare at the ceiling for a while. You long ago noticed that every nightmare has preceded finding another friend dead. You are not living with anyone now, for the reason stated above, but there is only one of your best friends left, unless the killer had decided to go after Mettaton. You roll onto your side, planning to go look for Sans, fully expecting to find nothing but dust.

That's when you see them, and you freeze immediately. You see the back of a head with short, brown hair. The owner of said hair is pulling the blue and purple striped shirt from your closet on over their head. When they finish adjusting it to their satisfaction, they turn around to see you watching with wide, horrified eyes. Despite the morning light, darkness seems to cling to them. Their crimson eyes glint darkly, and a smile crosses their face.

 ***Good morning, partner**.

 ***Have a good sleep?**

Their laugh is cold and joyless as you say nothing, just stare with wide, horrified eyes.

You briefly wonder if they looked into you head as you slept and saw your dream.

They cross the room, not towards you, but to the door.

 ***I'll be waiting.**

They close the door behind them.

You stay frozen for a few moments, as if their dark eyes had turned you to stone, before you force yourself to move. You cross to your closet and find it already open. Sure enough, the blue shirt with the purple stripes is missing.

So what you saw wasn't a hallucination. They are really here.

You grit your teeth and are filled with determination. You remove your pajamas, reach into the closet, and pull out the green shirt with the yellow stripe. You pull it on, along with a pair of pants, and, fastening your Heart Locket around your neck, leave the room.

The shadowed child is not in the house, nor are they waiting outside. Feeling your gut sink, you turn and head for Sans's house. When you get there, you find Sans outside. He is alive, which is a pleasant surprise. Not so pleasant is that he is talking the shadow. His eyes are black with rage. Occasionally, his left eye flickers with cyan or yellow light. You can only assume what they are telling him. The truth is a safe bet.

You take a moment to steel yourself for what is to come. When you're as ready as you'll ever be, you open your eyes and call out to the shadow.

"FRISK!!!"

The spirit turns upon hearing its name. Sans turns to look at you too, a look of shock on his face. You ignore him, staring down the shadow. A smile spreads threateningly across their face.

 ***Hello, Chara.**

You can't believe how much they've changed. When you first met them, they were bright and happy, always kind and always cheerful no matter what hardships the world threw their way. But the resets and the genocides have not been kind to them, nor, you think guiltily, have you. The shadows stain their yellow skin and make their dark brown hair seem almost black. The ruby eyes that once shone like jewels with their determination are now dark and unfeeling. Not that you can blame them. Being thrown out of your body and forced to live as a soulless spirit will do that to you. You know from experience. You suppose it also doesn't help that they've been forced to watch their friends die over and over, RESET after RESET.

***Sans is staring at you in denial.**

 ***He is waiting for you to deny that you are Chara and the shadow is Frisk.**

Frisk seems to be doing your old job of narrating.

 ***You do not deny it because you cannot.**

 ***Every word Frisk has told him is true.**

 ***You stole the body and SOUL of his real friend.**

 ***You are just an impersonator.**

They seem to be taking pleasure in messing with you, both by the narrating and the taunting.

"You're wrong," you say, turning to Sans. "It's true. I'm not the real Frisk. But I AM your friend." You turn back to Frisk. "And I think it's kind of funny that you call yourself his 'real friend' when you're the one who's been going around killing everyone, aren't you?"

Frisk throws back their head and laughs. A high-pitched, mirthless, truly terrifying laugh. A small part of your brain wonders how Frisk got to be so creepy. You thought only you could pull that off. Well, you and maybe Flowey.

 ***You're one to talk**.

 ***At least I did it for a good reason.**

"oh yeah?" Sans's voice interrupts your little confrontation. "and what reason could that be, kiddo? 'cause i'm tellin' ya..." His left eye is blazing cyan and yellow. "...it better be a damn good reason."

Frisk turns to Sans. They try to put up a compassionate expression, but it crumbles, like a dry sandcastle. Without their SOUL, they are incapable of such feelings and settle for a blank look of mixed boredom and annoyance.

 *** _Please_ , Sans, don't look at me like  _I'm_  the bad guy.**

 ***On the contrary, I was the hero.**

 ***I freed everyone and brought us to the surface.**

 ***I was ready to move on with my friends and family.**

 ***But Chara...**  

They send a sharp, reproachful glance your way.

 ***Chara wasn't satisfied.**

 ***They forced me to reset, and when I went through the Underground again, they were always there, constantly whispering in my ear, guiding my hand to do things I never would have done.**

 ***I didn't have a choice.**

 ***They made me kill everyone.**

 ***And then they made me erase this whole world.**

 ***I tried and tried and tried to bring it back with my determination, but only Chara had the power.**

 ***And they promised to do it...**

 ***If I gave them my soul.**  

Sans draws in a sharp breath. You stare at the ground in shame. 

 ***I gave up my SOUL in exchange for a chance to give everyone their happy ending again.**

 ***But I didn't know that in giving up my soul, I was also giving Chara complete control of my body and my determination.**

 ***When I woke up, I was trapped in my own mind, watching as Chara murdered everyone I loved using my body, only to reset and do it all over again.**

 ***Again and again, they made me watch you all die.**

 ***They liked seeing me suffer.**

 ***And I _did_  suffer. **

***Since I was still trapped inside my body, I was still connected to my soul.**

 ***I could still feel and grieve and they loved it.**

 ***Sometimes, they even let me take control of the body.**

 ***I spared everyone, I saved everyone, I befriended everyone, I freed everyone.**

 ***We had our happy ending for a little while, only for Chara to snatch it all away and kill you all anyway.**

 ***Over and over again.**

 ***I was determined, though.**

 ***I refused to give up on our happy ending.**

Frisk smiled bitterly. 

 ***Until I did.**

 ***I noticed that I was growing increasingly numb to the heartbreak and the violence.**

 ***I was losing connection with my soul.**

 ***I was becoming soulless.**

 ***I started to realize that no matter how many times I saved everyone, we would never have the future I'd dreamed of.**

 ***I would never be the monsters' ambassador to the humans.**

 ***I would never see Mom and Dad get back together and have the full family I'd always wanted.**

 ***I would never find a way to save Asriel.**

 ***Mom's dream of becoming a teacher...**

 ***Dad's dream of having a family again...**

 ***Undyne and Alphys's dream of living out the rest of their lives together, watching anime...**

 ***Papyrus's dream of driving that car down the street...**

 ***YOUR dream of finally having a reason to try again...**

 ***They would never last.**

 ***You would always die.**

 ***And it would all start over again.**

 *** _ALWAYS_.**

 ***So, I decided to try something different.**

 ***If I couldn't secure everyone's happy ending, I would make it so they would never suffer again.**

 ***The next time Chara let me have my body, I didn't go the way of the pacifist.**

 ***I killed everyone and everything until I had enough LOVE to do what I needed to do.**

 ***I was going to ERASE the world, this time for good.**

 ***No one was going to die, no one was going to suffer ever again.**

 ***I suppose I was almost completely SOULLESS by then.**

 ***It was... easier than I expected it to be.**

 ***But, right as I was about to do it, Chara saw through my plan, didn't you, Chara?**

 ***They stopped me and reset, completely cutting me off from them in the process, so now we're here.**

***Sans is looking at you desperately now, searching for any kind of denial, any hint that this isn't true.**

 ***You have none.**

You look up at Sans from where you were fixated on your shoes. "It's true," you choke out. Tears prick at your eyes. "It's all true."

Sans takes a step back from you. You wonder if he's thinking about all the times he's held you,  _consoled you_ , in the past couple weeks. Now he know that this whole time, it was all your fault. 

Frisk turns to him.

***Well, you're the judge, aren't you?**

 ***So who's more guilty?**

 ***The one who's killed everyone you love a thousand times over and enjoyed it?**

 ***Or the one that did it twice to stop the suffering?**

Sans turns back to Frisk. "So you admit that you killed them all this time, too?"

***I did, but it doesn't matter.**

 ***If I hadn't done it, they would have.**

 ***C'mon, Sans, you're smarter than this.**

 ***Chara's had the power to reset this whole time.**

 ***All the pain you've gone through these past few weeks, losing your friends, losing Papyrus...**

 ***At any given moment, any time they felt like it, Chara could have made it all go away.**

Sans's head turns towards you, his eyes black. 

 ***So why didn't they?**

 ***It's simple, really.**

 ***They don't care about you, Sans.**

 ***They don't care about anyone.**

 ***This was something new and something exciting.**

 ***They wanted to see how it played out, didn't you, Chara?**

" **No** ," you say, as firmly as possible. "No, that's not why."

***Oh** _ **really**_ **? Now** _ **this**_ **, I can't wait to hear.**

"I... I didn't want to see everyone die again. I really didn't. It hurt me just as much as it hurt you. But I... I knew resetting wouldn't do any good because I didn't know how to stop the murders. So I waited until the killer was found."

Frisk smirks. 

 ***Well? Here I am. What are you going to do?**

"I'm going to talk to you. There's something really important I need to tell you."

Frisk raises an eyebrow. 

 ***Well then.**

 ***Sounds like my partner and I need some privacy.**

 ***Sorry, Sans.**

And just like that, a blood red knife of pure LOVE and determination appears in their hand and they slash it across Sans's chest. Red liquid drips from the wound, and Sans collapses to his knees. You looked on in horror as he turns to dust. Then you sigh and turn back to Frisk.

*** _What?_ **

***Don't look so disappointed.**

 ***You and I both know I couldn't give a damn about him even if I tried.**

 ***I don't have a soul, remember?**

 ***You stole it from me.**

You look down. "I know," you say quietly. "But that doesn't mean you have to act like Flowey... Or like me."

***Don't I, though?**

 ***You took my place.**

 ***Why shouldn't I take yours?**

"You're not even trying to erase the world anymore, are you? You just want revenge."

***I can't do both at once?**

"Heh. Well, I guess you have a point.

"I don't... blame you, really. You're right. This body, this soul, this life, this happy ending... it's all yours, not mine. It was never mine. I- I guess I'm just a little jealous. I'll never get to have this." You wipe a tear from your eyes. "Frisk... I'm so sorry."

Frisk is quiet for a moment. The blank look on their face gives you no clue as to what they're feeling. Then, they throw their head back and laugh. 

 ***You're...**

 ***You're** _ **apologizing**_ **?!**

 ***After all you've done, did you think you could just apologize and everything would be alright?**

 ***Did you think I would let you have** _ **my**_ **body and** _ **my**_ **soul and** _ **my**_ **happy ending...**

 ***All because you're** _ **sorry**_ **?!**

 ***HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-**

They are suddenly cut off when you launch yourself forward and wrap them in a hug. 

 ***Wh- What do you think you're doing?**

"I'm not apologizing because I expect you to forgive me. I'm just telling you the truth.

"You may not know this, but the reason you became detached from your soul is because it attached itself to me. No, don't talk, just listen. I have never met a soul as loving and forgiving and downright _determined_ as yours. Determined to see the good in me, to _save me_ , even after you gave up.

"And, eventually, it got through to me. Through your soul, I got to feel love and compassion again for the first time in decades. That's why I stopped killing them. That last time I gave you back your body, that was real. I was going to let you set them all free for good.

"But... you didn't. You wanted to erase the world, like I once wanted to. I couldn't let that happen, so I stopped you, not because I wanted to keep killing them, but because I didn't want to lose everyone's chance for a happy ending. Isn't that why you gave me your SOUL in the first place?

"I'm sorry I isolated you, and I'm sorry I thought I could live your happy ending for you. I see now that I was wrong. So I... I want you to take it back."

  
You feel Frisk stiffen. 

 ***Wh- What?**

"I know it seems impossible now, but I truly, truly believe that your happy ending is possible. Frisk, you know what I was like. You know better than anyone. If your soul made me remember kindness and mercy... I know it can do the same for you. You are a _good person_ Frisk, and you have more love in you than the rest of the world combined. It may take a long time... five, ten, a hundred tries, but I know you'll find the right path again."

You pull away a little, enough to pull a red heart out of your chest- Frisk's soul. You give it one last look before you gently press it into Frisk's chest. Your vision goes white for a moment as you feel the body housing you pull away from you and return to Frisk, following the soul.

Frisk looks shocked, amazed. "You... you've never given me my soul back before... Not even when you gave me control of my body..."

***I know.**

 ***And I'm sorry.**

 ***I should have done this sooner.**

  
You feel the old emptiness settle back into you. It's been forever since you felt it, but it still feels familiar.

And yet, something is different. Not the emptiness, but you. The emptiness is no longer an excuse to do bad, but a reason to try extra hard to do good. And somehow, despite not having a soul, as you stand there in your true form, a simple spirit once again, looking at Frisk in their body, the shadows gone from them, you in your shirt and them in theirs, you feel more complete than you have in a long time. You realize that your work here is done. You can't influence them to be better than they are. If- no, when they do the right thing, it has to be their own choice. You no longer have any reason to be here. And you're alright with that. You're at peace.

Your form starts to fade.

"Chara? Where are you going?" Frisk's voice is laced with concern, maybe even fear.

***Thanks to you, I can finally move on.**

 ***You don't need me, and I don't need to be here.**

 ***This is your life to live.**

 ***Mine ended a long time ago.**

You notice Frisk's eyes- now bright red again- starting to look damp. Their soul is readjusting to its proper owner fast. You smile. 

 ***Hey... don't cry.**

 ***You should be smiling.**

 ***You're going to be free.**  

You hug them close again. One last time. 

 ***Frisk... be good... okay?**  

You fade away completely, slipping into the great beyond that had alluded you for so long.

 

*        *        *

 

***Be good... okay?**

Chara's last words ring in your ears. You look at the pile of dust that used to be one of your best friends. You feel your sins crawling up your back. You look away, then up towards the sky. You take it in. This will be what you will have to look forward to, when you're finally ready to reach for your salvation. Maybe it will be this reset. Maybe it'll take a while. You don't know, but you're not going to rush it.

You  _are_  going to reset, you know that much. You've only had your soul back for a few minutes now, and already the idea of erasing the whole world is unthinkable. Maybe Chara was right.

You close your eyes, feeling the wind on your face, letting it fill you with determination as the Reset button appears in front of you.

"It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these... kids like you, Chara... should be at peace."

You press Reset.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on deviantArt.
> 
> Fun Fact(s):  
> This is actually the first Undertale fanfic I ever wrote and was inspired by the role/personality swap of Frisk and Chara in Underswap. I got to thinking, "What if Frisk and Chara had a role and personality swap in the normal Undertale universe, brought on by Chara taking Frisk's soul at the end of the Genocide route?" (This was back when I still thought of Chara as evil. Or at least... starting out evil. Really, I just wrote this fic for evil Frisk, so Chara being evil originally was for convenience more than anything.) The second person POV came about as a way to keep the reader in the dark as to their real identity.
> 
> Undertale and its characters belong to Toby Fox.
> 
> Enjoy!


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